Rivalry Brewing: Will Fort Erie & Royal Crown Rematch at NPA Nationals?
Celtics-Lakers, Pistons-Bulls, UNC-Duke, Fort Erie-Royal Crown.
Everyone loves a good ol’ fashion rivalry, & when it comes to Canadian high school basketball, I think we’ve found it.
The ingredients that make up a true rivalry include;
- Competitiveness
- Excellence
- Consistency
- History
- A little bit of spice
Check, check & check.
For the third straight year, these two teams have matched up in the OSBA (provincial league) playoffs with the last two years being in the Championship Game.
These two programs are setting a new standard in the space through consistency, and are making it fun for the basketball scene.
In 2022, Fort Erie won the first meeting behind a dominant 35 point performance from Leonard Miller, now with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA. They would go on to win the Championship that year.
Last year, they matched up in the finals with Royal Crown taking it, led by their seniors who are now playing NCAA D1 basketball: Mike Evbagharu (Siena), Jahari Williamson (Valpo), and David Simon (San Diego).
Coming into this season, Fort Erie reloads with one of the most talented rosters in recent Canadian Prep Basketball History. 6 All-Canadians including Virginia Commit Ishan Sharma, Colorado Commit Felix Kossaras, Buffalo Commit Brayden Jackson, Wyoming Commit Oliver Faubert, returning senior Diego Ramos, International Import Jihad El-Khatib, along with Marial Akuentok & Chris Kumu, who make up for 3 of the top prospects in the class of 2025.
As expected, they started off the season steam-rolling all competition. Undefeated regular seasons in the NPA & OSBA. They could do no wrong.
But as the season progressed, they slowly started getting hit by the injury-bug. With players falling in & out of the lineup, their production began to taper off in the tail-end of the season. Going into the Championship, they were without a key starter in 6’10 PF Oliver Faubert.
In the end, Royal Crown edged out Fort Erie to take home their second straight OSBA Championship after trailing for most of the game. Declan Cutler wins MVP, with big time contributions from 2024 G Peter Bandelj, Vermont Commit Sean Blake, 2025s Justus Haseley & Austin Goode.
Now, enter NPA Championships March 21-24 at Ridley College in St.Catharines…these two programs could be meeting yet again for the National Crown.
It won’t be Easy
As a fan, of course everyone would love to see a Fort Erie-Royal Crown rematch, but don’t expect it to necessarily play out that way. These two teams will now have targets on their back, with contenders like Polaris Prep (still undefeated) or even a sleeper like CSJV who have been playing their best basketball as of late + making major additions to their roster late in the season.
If there’s one thing we can gather, it’s that this is a legit basketball rivalry which is needed in a developing basketball landscape here in Canada. However, there are many other storylines forming as well.
Champions of NPH D1 receive auto-bid into NPA Nationals
You heard that right, it won’t just be the NPA teams competing for the National Title. The finalists of the NPH D1 Championship the weekend prior (March 16/17 at York U) will earn a trip to Ridley College the next weekend. Teams like Polaris Prep Academy (brother-team of NPA’s Polaris), William Academy, Cali Prep, United Scholastic Academy, Brampton City Prep, C.O.D.E, V3, and more are competitive teams who have proven to give any top prep a run for their money. It will be interesting to see how this new development plays out.
NPA Nationals will be packed with post-secondary programs both NCAA D1 & USPORT/CCAA
Scholarship opportunities galore are expected—the stakes have never been higher. The timing of it works as well as most post-secondary teams will be finished their seasons. The NPH Scouting team has been in communication with all NCAA D1/D2/JUCO programs on inviting them up, with USPORT/CCAA programs confirmed as well. This brings an additional incentive for prospects and teams to perform. Playing for more than a National Title, but the chance to change the future of their basketball careers. NPA is historically known for putting on a platform in front of college coaches, with many success stories of players earning scholarships and even making it all the way to the NBA…including AJ Lawson, who just recently signed a standard contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
Like we always say, Game Speaks.
Don’t sleep on these teams
Fort Erie isn’t the only undefeated team left in the NPA. Polaris Prep has yet to lose in the regular season of the NPA as well. Post-Grad team with depth, talent, strong coaching, and Wyoming Commit/All-Canadian Dom Pangonis. Size down-low with 7ft C Cam Brennan & 6’8 PF Ewan Steele, athleticism on the wing with 6’8 D’Shay Wright, strong guard rotation with PG Anderson Cummins & Jalen Sikkema. Unfortunately they’ll be without a key contributor & Spanish Import Bruno Vidarte.
Representing Quebec, CSJV is a completely different squad than they were at the start of the year. In the final session of the regular season they dominated with limited contribution from leading scorer & International Talent Chakib Sedoud. Defensively they’ll be able to cause problems for any team. Length on the perimeter with athletic wings + pesky guard defenders Samcarl Charles & Maxime Louis-Jean. Trending upwards is their defensive anchor & rebounding machine Adama Tidiani Coulibaly who provides strong rim protection. One of the deepest benches in the league so you can almost guarantee no drop-off in production. The addition of Floor General Brice Philippe-Fandio has also been huge for them.
Canadian Basketball History is being made. Make sure to see how the story unfolds at NPA Nationals March 21-24 at Ridley College.
